According to Tolkien Examiner Josh Vogt, New Zealand will be launching a new tourism slogan late this month. “100% Middle-earth” has been in the works for awhile now, beginning with an advertising campaign which capitalizes on the film locations’ appeal to tourists. Tourism New Zealand‘s Kevin Bowler has released the following statement regarding the new slogan and campaign:

One of our most exciting milestones will be reached in late August when the new 100% Pure New Zealand campaign will get its first public airing, drawing together the themes ‘100% Pure’ and ‘100% Middle Earth.’ International media attention surrounding the films has been growing over the past few months and we have already hosted a number of journalists who are writing specifically about New Zealand as the location for the films.

We have Hobbit-specific pages on our corporate website, and images on our image library, providing a hub for all the news and information people may need. Consumers visiting NewZealand.com will already find a “Home of Middle-earth” section offering a range of experiences and products that are based around the filming of The Lord of the Rings.

As we work to leverage The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back again, we will connect the landscapes of Middle-earth with the experiences of New Zealand. Through our marketing activity we will show how easy it is to come here, see Middle-earth first-hand, and enjoy all the exciting and fun experiences New Zealand has to offer.

Semi-related reminder: for those of you going on A Long Expected Journey, it’s time to get those payments in. You don’t want to be left behind to do the dishes while everyone else begins their adventure!

Author: Oloriel
From time out of mind, Oloriel has been typing away in her little apartment, cats at her feet, hoping to reach out to other fantasy lovers by way of folkandfairy.com. Her discovery of Tolkien as a young adult awakened her long-dormant love of the otherworldly, and now she sees magic everywhere.
Oloriel has a degree in writing, which she put to work during a three-year stint in vanity publishing – an experience not unlike purgatory and very much like having to read 20 bad books each week – which she prefers not to talk about. To renew herself, she knits, naps, reads, prays, writes, walks in the woods, and eats too many cookies.